


This Time, We'll Go Together

by noahliza



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Eventual Romance, M/M, found families and the families you're born into, i'll add more as i go this is hard, long distance, paopu headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2020-10-17 13:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20621891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noahliza/pseuds/noahliza
Summary: The Kingdom of Luz's prince has been missing for almost as long as Sora and Riku have been alive. But far from it all on Destiny Islands, life has always gone along peacefully; and thoughts of the royal family are few and far between, until a visitor from Radiant Garden arrives. A prophecy is unfolding, and the prince needs to be ready to see it through.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> started writing this one a while back, it's gonna be a long one! i just...love fairytales.

“Hey.” 

Sora stopped in his tracks, halfway out the door. “Yeah?” He backed up a few steps and flashed a smile at Cloud, who had been silent at the table until now. 

Cloud simply pointed at the counter, already looking back at the notebook he was reading.

“Oh, nice, Selphie brought food!” Sora dashed over to a small plate with a few muffins on it. “I guess this means you’re headin’ out later today?” Sora grabbed a muffin and dug in.

Cloud nodded. “Yeah. Won’t be gone for too long, though.” 

“Is that you telling me not to miss you too much?” Sora laughed.

“It’s me telling you not to try getting up to anything, kid.” Cloud’s voice was stern, but Sora could see the ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll  _ try  _ not to burn the house down,” Sora grinned. He finished his muffin and waved goodbye at Cloud as he ran out the door.

Sora took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment as he ran outside, enjoying the warmth of mid-morning sunshine. He soaked it in before taking off, away from town. He ran until the road became a trail, became a footpath mostly covered with lush tropical plants. He slowed to a walk, taking his time with the plants and wildlife around him. Being alone in nature had a calming effect on Sora. He just felt at peace like this. Sora carefully stepped off the footpath and into the brush, watching birds in the treetops over his head. 

He excitedly jerked his head down and to his right, seeing a movement from the corner of his eye. A brightly-colored lizard skittered around on the ground before coming to a stop, sensing Sora’s gaze.

Sora slowly, carefully moved towards the lizard. Extremely careful, so he wouldn’t startle it while he was too far away. He placed his hands to its sides, just far enough away to not scare it. Now came the hard part: scooping it up quickly, but not too quickly. 

He brought his hands together, successfully grabbing hold of the lizard before it could escape. It wiggled in his hands, displeased with its current situation. 

“Aha!” Sora shouted, “I gotcha!” The lizard squirmed around more. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.” Sora murmured apologetically, gently petting the lizard’s back with one finger. After a little bit, the lizard calmed down. Sora held it more loosely, getting a good look at its bright coloration. 

He remembered what he’d set out to do. It wasn’t lizard catching, unfortunately. Well, really, it was fortunate - getting sidetracked wasn’t.

“Okay, I’ll let you go now,” Sora smiled, lowering his hands to the ground and releasing the lizard. It scurried away quickly, further into the brush. Sora stood back up and walked back to the footpath, continuing down it to the other side of the island. 

Sora was once again greeted by warm sunlight as he walked away from the tree line, and his favorite view on the island. The white sandy beach stretched out in front of him until it met with the beautiful blue sea, only interrupted by a palm tree here and there -- and by a small boat! 

Maybe...make the beach Sora’s second favorite view on the island.

Sora gazed at Riku, sat on the water’s edge by his fishing boat. He was looking out to sea, probably daydreaming, Sora thought with a smile. His silvery hair was tied back into a stubby ponytail, barely long enough to pull into one yet. 

“Rii-kuu!” Sora hollered, running down the beach to his best friend. Riku turned towards him, his green eyes vibrant in the sunlight. 

“Sora!” Riku greeted with a smile. He glanced down as Sora got to the water’s edge next to him. “You forgot to put shoes on.”

“Wha - oh, yeah, I guess I did.” Sora shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”   


“Yeah, sure. Don’t blame me if you step on something sharp.” Riku rolled his eyes fondly.

“How’s work been?” Sora plopped down in the sand next to Riku. 

“Work.” Riku shrugged. “Nothin’ new.” He reluctantly stood up and grabbed a small cooler from the boat. He rejoined Sora, putting the cooler between them.

“Lunch time!” Sora singsonged, opening the cooler before Riku got the chance. Inside were two bentos, fried rice with veggies and baked fish. Sora whispered a thank you to Riku’s mom and dug in.

“So, what distracted you on your way out today?” Riku asked. 

“Nothing?” Sora ate a bite of fish, thinking. “Cloud stopped me to let me know he’s going on a trip today, though.”

“Sounds distracting enough.” 

“Yeah, but, I was  _ already  _ about to leave. I forgot them  _ before  _ that!” Sora protested, gesturing with his fork as he spoke.

“Okay, fine.” Riku laughed and shook his head. “Is he gonna be gone for a while?”

“Nah, he said it’ll be a pretty short trip.” 

Riku nodded in response, eating his lunch slowly.

“Hey!” Sora broke the momentary quiet, nearly making Riku jump. “You should spend the night with me!”

“Like...a sleepover?” Riku asked, incredulous. “Sora, we haven’t done that since we were kids.”

“Yeah, exactly!” Sora grinned, filled to the brim with excitement. “Please, it’ll be fun!”

“Maybe.” Riku shrugged. “I’m supposed to work tomorrow.”

“Riku c’mon!” Sora pleaded. “Quit trying to be Mister Cool Mature Guy, I know you wanna come over.”

Riku caved. Sora knew him too well. “Yeah, okay, let’s have a sleepover.” 

Sora grinned. “It’ll be great!” 

“It better be, dork.” Riku laughed, more excited than he wanted to admit. It didn’t matter though, Sora could tell. Sora could always tell.

The two finished their lunches and parted ways, Riku headed back out to sea on his boat; and Sora back to town on foot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait! hopefully chapters will be quicker from here on out :)
> 
> i try to avoid ocs in fic, but i didn't feel like any characters fit as riku's parents hahah

The walk back home was much quicker, Sora preoccupied with excited thoughts about the sleepover. He stopped at the front door and tried his best to wipe the dirt and sand off his feet. Cloud was still home, packing his bag.

“Oh, good timing!” Sora chirped. He stepped carefully to the kitchen area and set the two bentos down, intending on washing them later. “I can see you off!” Cloud nodded.

Sora talked about his day so far, the parts Cloud hadn’t been there for, while Cloud silently finished packing. 

“Alright.” Cloud closed his bag up and slung it over his shoulders. “Time to go.” 

The two left home - Sora remembering shoes this time; and headed to the docks. Tifa was already there, ready to go.

“Heey! There you are!” She called out. “Oh, hi Sora!” 

“Hi Tifa!” Sora grinned. 

“Hey.” Cloud nodded in greeting.

“Don’t miss us too much, kay, Sora?” Tifa teased. “We’ll only be gone a couple days!”

Sora nodded. “I already had this talk with Cloud, no worries!” 

Tifa glanced between Sora and Cloud. “Oh yeah? Did he tell you not to get up to anything?”

“Yes!” Sora shouted in exasperation. Cloud nodded quietly.

“Well, I guess my work here is done.” Tifa grinned and got on the boat. Cloud followed suit, and started the motor up. Sora waved as they went off, and watched them sail away for a bit.

After a few minutes watching the horizon, Sora went back home and washed the bentos. He wrapped two of the leftover muffins in paper, and took those with the bentos.

First stop was Riku’s house. He slipped inside, dropped the clean bentos off on their table, and slipped back out. The second stop was Hana’s shop. 

“Hi Auntie Hana!” Sora greeted as he entered the shop. He dodged around things with half-made and half-fixed clothes on them, back to Hana’s work table. 

“Hello, Sora.” She looked up from some fabric she was sewing to smile warmly at Sora.

“Thanks for lunch,” Sora returned her smile. He fished one of the muffins out from the paper he’d wrapped them in and held it out. “This is for you!”

“Oh, thank you Sora.” Hana took the muffin. “You know you don’t need to bring me anything in return, though!”

“You always say that,” Sora huffed, “But I wanna at least pay you back a  _ little _ .”

“Well, it’s always appreciated.” She reassured him, bringing the smile back to his face.

“Good! I’m gonna go back to the dock, now, bye Auntie!” Sora nodded to her and started back to the door.

“Bye, Sora!” Hana chuckled to herself as he zipped out of the shop.

Sora dashed back to the dock, and arrived just in time to see Riku’s dad tying his boat up for the day. 

“Gou! Uncle!” Sora shouted, still running.

“Woah, slow down there!” Gou scolded. “What’s going on?”

“I brought you this!” Sora held out the paper.

Gou took it and unwrapped the muffin from inside. “Oh, thank you Sora!”

They were interrupted by Riku’s boat arriving at the dock. 

“What’s goin’ on?” Riku asked tiredly as he tied his boat up.

“I brought your dad a muffin.” Sora shrugged. “Nothin’ really.”

“What? Did you bring me one, too?” Riku perked up a bit.

“Uh, nope!” Sora shrugged again, feigning nonchalance. He was fighting back a teasing smile.

“ _ What? _ You traitor!” Riku leapt at Sora, catching him off guard. Laughing, he wrapped one arm around Sora’s neck and gave him a noogie with the other. “I can’t believe you!” 

“He-hey!” Sora struggled against Riku’s grip, laughing with him. “I’m no traitor!” 

“Prove it!”

“I will!” Sora escaped Riku’s hold and took off towards home. “Follow me!”

“Alright, let’s go, then!” Riku ran off too, easily keeping up with Sora. “Bye dad, I’m staying at Sora’s tonight!”   
  
“Bye Uncle!”

“Bye, boys!” Gou waved them off.

The two raced each other to Sora’s house, arriving quickly. Sora dramatically gestured a ‘welcome’ as Riku stepped inside. He quickly found the last muffin, still on it’s plate. 

“Okay, so you aren’t a traitor.” Riku admitted, digging in. 

“Told you.” Sora stuck his tongue out at Riku.

“Yeah, yeah. Okay.” Riku rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“Wanna go on a walk?” Sora asked.

“Uh, sure?” 

“I wanna watch the sunset.” 

“You can see the sunset from anywhere, dork.” Riku teased.

“No, I mean, I wanna watch it from the Big Hill.”

“Oh, yeah okay, let’s go.” Riku agreed, a bit more seriously.

The two quickly headed out and through town, quickly reaching the end. The treeline here was so thick it seemed impassable, but Sora and Riku knew better.

They ducked down as low as they could, weaving and dodging their way through the dense foliage, an unseen path they both would know by heart until the day they died. Soon, they reached a cliff face and began their climb. While the first half of their trek had only gotten more difficult as they grew up, their heights made this part much easier.

Riku hoisted himself onto the top of the cliff and extended a hand to Sora, who took it despite grumbling about being able to do it himself. They walked to the far end of the cliff and sat next to each other, looking out at the ocean below.

“Been a while.” Riku said, quietly.

“Yeah.” Sora smiled. “That’s why I wanted to come! We should camp up here again, sometime.”

“Hmm, yeah.” Riku agreed. “The breeze up here is nice. It’s peaceful.”

“Yeah!” Sora’s smile became a grin, excited about the prospect of camping out. “We should do it tomorrow!”

Riku was quiet for a moment. Sora fidgeted a bit, suddenly nervous that he’d say no. It was...strange to be unsure about Riku.

“Tomorrow sounds good. You gotta start getting everything together while I’m working, okay?” Riku flashed a smile at Sora, and his worries flew away.

“I can do that!” 

“Tomorrow, then.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the irregular updates! have something sweet as an apology :)

The two sat in companionable silence as the sun dipped lower on the horizon, casting everything in a warm orangey glow.

Sora glanced over at Riku. His silvery hair shone like fire in the light. His facial expression was distant, unfocused.

“Riku?”

Riku snapped out of his thoughts. “Yeah, Sora?”

“What’cha thinkin’ about?” 

“Just...places. What it’s like out there.” Riku shrugged.

“Ooh, curious about the big wide world?” Sora joked. He was curious too, and Riku knew it.

“Yeah. I wanna be able to see what’s out there, though. Books only give you so much.” 

“I know.” Sora sighed wistfully. He knew just about everything Riku knew from his books, despite hating to read them himself. It was hard to focus on pieces of paper when there were other things to do outside.

“Maybe someday.”

“No way!” Sora straightened his posture, an idea forming. “Not maybe! Let’s do it! When we’re older, let’s travel the world together!”

“Wh-what?!” Riku stiffened a bit, and he glanced away. “I mean… yeah, that would be really nice.”

Sora wasn’t sure what just happened. He’d expected Riku to be excited about the idea, not nervous like this, like how he tended to react around others. For the second time in one night, he wasn’t completely sure what Riku was feeling. It was nerve-wracking.

“Um, I meant, just if you wanted to!” Sora tried to clear the air.

“Wait, wait, Sora! I do want to! You caught me off guard.” Riku protested. His posture relaxed, and he smiled genuinely at Sora. “I mean it. I just wasn’t expecting the idea.”

Sora’s heart filled with warmth. “Good! Let’s promise.”

“Okay, sure.” Riku nodded. “I promise.”

“Waiiiit, Rii-kuu!” Sora groaned. “That’s not what I meant! Not a regular promise!”

“Like a-?” 

“A  _ real _ promise! Let’s go!” Sora hopped up. Riku hesitated for a moment, looking surprised - but happy nonetheless.

“Okay,” Riku finally replied. He nodded up at Sora, and the two set off. They climbed back down the cliff and ran back through the brush, making it out in record time. Sora was practically bouncing with excitement as they walked through town, down the road. Before it turned to a path, there was the other beach. 

It was the main beach, really, but not to Sora and Riku. 

Sora kicked his shoes off and sprinted down the beach. “Race ya!”

“ _ Sora!!! _ ” Riku shouted. “You cheater!” He quickly kicked his own shoes off and took off after him.

The two laughed as they raced down the beach, Sora just barely beating Riku to the paopu tree - Destiny Islands’ treasure. They only grew in this region, and were the subject of local legend - a legend held so dearly that they’d given the islands their name. In the legend, sharing a paopu would intertwine two peoples’ destinies. Now, they were more symbolic; most commonly shared in wedding ceremonies. A symbol of their oath to stay by each others’ side through any hardship.

Sora picked one, careful not to disturb the other fruits. He held it out to Riku. 

“Ready?” He grinned.

“Ready.” Riku swallowed over a lump in his throat, clearly nervous. He managed a smile, and took hold of the fruit with one hand.

“I promise,” They both started, “To travel the world with you.” 

They both took a bite. It was quiet between the two of them for a moment. Riku felt like their promise was settling into them, into the world. It was somehow both comforting and terrifying.

“Paopu tastes different than I thought.” Sora broke the silence.

“Is that...good?” Riku questioned.

“Yeah. I like it!” Sora nodded. “I was kinda worried it’d taste bad or something.”

Riku laughed, and the seriousness of the moment they’d just shared melted away. He took his pocket knife out and did his best to cut it in half while holding it in the air. Sweet, sticky juice covered his hands. 

They headed back towards home, finishing their halves on the way. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay, new chapter! i've been meaning to finish this up and post it for a little while now, but holiday prep at work was killin me;;; i don't want to even think about centerpieces until christmas, lol

The house was relatively quiet when they got back, Sora got their futons ready while Riku washed the excessive amount of dried paopu juice off his hands.

“All clean?” Sora smiled as Riku joined him.

“Yeah. I thought it’d never come off.” Riku laughed.

“It was pretty sticky.” Sora nodded, then yawned. “Oh no…” 

“Tired already?” Riku teased. “I thought you were all excited to have me over, and now you’re too sleepy?”

“Entertain me…” Sora whined, flopping over onto his futon. “I ran around a lot…”

“You run around a lot every day, Sora.” 

“Wow, what a coincidence. I also get tired every day…” 

“We could... Hm.” Riku tried to think of something that was engaging enough to keep Sora up for a bit longer.

“Let’s play truth or truth.” Sora mumbled.

“Truth or truth?” Riku gave Sora a confused look. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m too tired for dares...” Sora shrugged.

“Okay, weirdo. Umm, what are you gonna do when you grow up?” Riku asked the first thing that came to mind, hoping it wasn’t too boring.

“Travel with you? Duh.” Sora smirked.

“No, like for work. Like how I fish, but you just lay around all day.” Riku teased back.

“I do not!” Sora protested. He was quiet for a bit. “I dunno, though. Can’t traveling be work? I could...do stuff along the way..?” Sora struggled to think of what ‘stuff’ entailed.

“Yeah, okay.” Riku accepted after giving Sora a moment to think. “I guess we’d probably need to make money while traveling, anyway.”

“Yeah, exactly.” Sora nodded. “Um! What’s the coolest thing you read recently?”

“You’re just trying to avoid reading, again.” Riku decided to lay down too, the futon’s comfort calling to him.

“It’s boring, Riku!” Sora complained. “Besides, I remember things better when you tell me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Riku shrugged. “Um, so y’know how there’s places where it’s cold all year? There’s a bunch of different animals that get white fur in the winter to blend in with snow.”

“Oh, that _ is _ cool! I still can’t imagine what it’d be like in a place that’s _ cold _ all the time. We gotta go, though! I wanna see snow!”

Riku laughed and nodded. “I do too! We’ll have to get coats and stuff when we get there, though… It’ll be weird wearing a bunch of layers.”

“Yeah…” Sora’s train of thought was interrupted by a yawn. 

“Wake up.” Riku nudged Sora’s arm. “What’s your favorite memory?”

“Uuuuhhhhh….” Sora’s mind swam languidly, tired. “Riku, favorites are too hard…”

“Top five?” Riku tried.

“Hmm…” Sora thought again. This was easier. “Finding the Secret Place with you, the first time we went stargazing on the Big Hill, and when we were younger and your dad took us around on his boat really fast...ummm...when Mouser had kittens and I got to help take care of them...and the first time I got Cloud to laugh!”

“I still can’t even imagine what that’s like,” Riku admitted. “I still barely believe that he smiles.”

“Well, he does.”

“Yeah, I know.” Riku was quiet for a moment. “Hey, Sora?”

“Yeah, Riku?”

“How come you decided to move in with Cloud?”

“It’s _ my _ turn for a question, Riku!” Sora protested.

“I’ll let you ask two?”

“_ Okay _ ,” Sora accepted with exaggerated frustration. “Even though it _ ruins _ the pattern.”

Riku rolled his eyes, smiling. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Yeah!” Sora nodded with faux seriousness, then dropped the act to answer Riku’s question. “So...It was a couple things I guess? I didn’t want to put your family out any more by staying there, and-”

“Put them out? Sora..?” Riku was blindsided. “Sora, everyone’s happy to help you out. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I really appreciate it! I just...feel bad?” Sora gestured lazily as he spoke, “I wanna do more to help out in return. I can’t do that for everyone yet.”

“But, Cloud?”

“Yeah, he was all alone here, ya know?” Sora shrugged as if the answer was obvious. “I think he gets overwhelmed around lots of people, that’s why he’s a grump sometimes. But he gets lonely, too. So, I’m trying to help by being there! He’s nice. I like him.”

“You like everyone, Sora.” Riku’s tone was teasing, but his smile was warm and fond.

“Yeah, I guess I do!” Sora grinned. “My turn. What’s your favorite spot on the island?”

“Um….the cove, I guess.” Riku shrugged. Easy answer.

“Not the Big Hill?” Sora questioned.

“Um.”

“Or the Secret Place?”

“Sora.”

“Or the library?”

“Did you ask me a favorites question just to show me how hard they are to answer?” Riku asked flatly.

“Maybe.” Sora grinned mischievously. “Payback. Number two! Um...What are you insecure about?”

“Deep.” Riku commented. He thought for a moment. “I guess...going out into the world and finding out I’m not...strong enough, or smart enough, or whatever.”

“Enough for what?” Sora looked at Riku curiously. 

“I’m not... sure…?” Riku admitted.

“You can always get stronger later, and learn more stuff later, too!” Sora smiled encouragingly. “If you aren’t enough, then you can become enough!” 

“It sounds so simple when you say it like that.” Riku laughed quietly.

“That’s because it is.” 

“I guess. It doesn’t feel like it, though.” Riku sighed. “My turn...um...Do you ever wonder where you came from?”

“No. Yes.” Sora looked away. “I don’t like to…”

“Sora..?” Riku hadn’t realized he was treading on uncomfortable terrain. Sora was like a beam of sunlight - it was all too easy to forget that he had darker thoughts as well. Now that Riku was aware, he felt like he had to keep going. Had to try and find the right thing to say, like Sora had just done for him. 

Sora glanced at Riku, then looked away. “I don’t wanna play this any more.”

“Sora, I’m sorry…” Riku reached out and gently held Sora’s hand. “I didn’t realize it was a painful question.”

“You weren’t supposed to,” Sora admitted, “I was just gonna say no and be done with it.”

“You’re too honest for your own good, huh.” Riku gently squeezed Sora’s hand. “It’s okay to talk about it, if you want.”

Sora glanced around the room as he decided, then nodded. “I don’t like to think about being the outsider. No one ever treats me like one, no one really thinks of me as one, but I know I am.”

Riku listened quietly, not wanting to accidentally interrupt Sora with a reply.

“That’s why I wanna be able to help out more, I guess. I wanna repay everyone for letting me forget that I’m an outsider.”

“I’m sorry for making you think about it...” 

“It’s okay.” Sora looked back at Riku and smiled. It was a small, weak smile - but it was genuine. “It...felt kinda nice saying that out loud.”

“Sometimes you just have to talk things out.” Riku returned Sora’s smile. “You always tell me that, remember? But, don’t feel obligated to help out more, okay? Just do what you want to do.”

“Don’t worry, it’s what I want to do.” Sora’s smile brightened, then faltered as he tried to prevent himself from yawning.

“Get some rest.” Riku let go of Sora’s hand. “It’s probably late…” He looked around for a clock, and was unable to find one that he could read from where he was laying.

“Mhm…” Sora mumbled, already starting to drift off.

Riku looked fondly at Sora for a moment, then got himself comfy to get some sleep himself. He felt guilty for joking that Sora lazed around all day. He knew Sora had already forgiven him for it, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d said it. 

If he’d known the way Sora felt, he wouldn’t have even thought it. Wouldn’t have had to rely on Sora’s endless love and forgiveness.

Riku drifted off to sleep feeling like a terrible friend.


	5. Chapter 5

Riku woke with the sunrise automatically, groggy as always. He willed himself to get out of bed and get ready to work. He quickly, quietly got dressed and left. He headed towards his own house to get his things and walk to the docks with his dad. Riku wasn’t the fondest of waking up so early, but the peaceful morning walks were always worth the tiredness. 

As he went, he noted the color of the sunrise. _ Red sky in morning. _ He’d have to keep an eye on the clouds today. 

The two quietly untied their boats from the dock and started them up, Riku’s dad heading off first. Riku sped out to a different area, it was easiest to fish without the sound of someone else’s motor scaring the fish away.

Sora woke up a few hours later, to the sound of claws and impatient meows outside the door.

“Oh no, Mouser!” Sora shot up out of bed and scrambled around the kitchen to get a bowl and some food.

Shortly after, Sora opened the door and let Mouser inside. He set the bowl of fish down, which Mouser quickly dug into.

“Sorry.” Sora smiled apologetically, lightly petting Mouser’s back. “I was up a little late. Guess I slept in a bit -- oh no! I gotta get ready or I’ll be late for lunch!” Sora flinched at the clock, now realizing how late in the morning it was. Mouser continued eating her lunch, unbothered by Sora’s outburst. Sora hurriedly put the blankets and futons away, then ran into the bathroom to shower. As he went about his morning, thunder began to rumble overhead.

Sora exited the bathroom to hear the beginnings of a rainstorm. “Oh, no…” Sora murmured. A bright bolt of lightning cracked the sky, and rain started pounding against the roof. Mouser darted underneath the table in fear, and Sora realized it was probably going to be a big storm. Animals always knew. 

“Riku probably can’t fish in this, I should meet him at the dock! He’s probably back now…” Sora thought aloud.

He ran out in the downpour, hoping to get there and back as quickly as possible. It was dark as night, and just when Sora’s eyes started to adjust, a bolt of lightning would strike; blindingly bright. He was soaked to the bone before he even reached the dock, and he thought that he should have just skipped his shower this morning.

Riku wasn’t at the dock. Sora whirled around, looking every direction for a sign of Riku -- for a sign of anyone. Aside from the raging sky and sea, everything was still.

Lunch.

Sora stopped in his tracks and turned in the vague direction of the beach. He took off, as quick as he could; hoping that’s where Riku was, hoping Riku wasn’t still out at sea. Storms like this turned the sea from something beautiful, to something treacherous and deadly. He made it to where the road became a path, became a footpath. It was even harder to see here, the plant life blocking out what little light had been coming through the dark storm clouds. Running became a bit difficult, the path had been completely turned to rocky mud from the rain. He did his best to keep his balance on the slippery ground. His heart pounded with the torrential rain.

_ I have to find Riku. Riku has to be there. Riku has to be okay. Riku has to be safe. _

Sora let out a surprised shout as he slipped and fell, landing hard on the ground - too wrapped up in his thoughts to catch himself in time. He scrambled frantically, too panicked to get himself back up easily. Something hurt. His breaths came shorter and shorter, scared. 

_ Riku has to be there. Riku has to be okay. Riku has to be safe. _

_ It’s dark. _

Sora finally made it to their beach. Past the drenched sand, the ocean swelled angrily. Ready to drag anyone or anything down into its depths. Sora squeezed his eyes shut, willing the thought out of his head. 

_ Riku has to be here- _

_ Riku’s boat isn’t at the beach. Riku isn’t at the beach. _

_ It’s so dark out. _

Sora’s breath caught in his throat as he ran towards the water. He looked desperately for any sign of Riku’s boat, hoping that he was at least nearby.

_ He’s not nearby. _

_ He wasn’t at the dock. _

_ He’s not here. _

Panic fully gripped Sora’s heart, and he sank down to the ground. He looked down and noticed that his feet were bare - he’d run outside without shoes again. He knew he should go back home, that he should get out of the rain, but he didn’t want to leave. He clung to a shred of hope that Riku would make it. He had to make sure.

He willed himself to get back up, and found himself a relatively dry spot - a rock overhang from the cliffs that blocked the cove from the rest of the island.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing this chapter was "let's add a touch of drama! (accidentally dumps the whole container)" oops :)
> 
> what riku says is my favorite rhyme, it's an old sailors' saying. 'red sky at night, sailor's delight. red sky in morning, sailor's warning.' !!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all's well that ends well, huh. lol

Riku quickly tied his boat up to the dock, and glanced at his dad doing the same. They’d both made it back in one piece, winning the race against nature — despite the fact that they hadn't beaten the storm itself. He had kept his eye on the clouds as well as he could, but the storm had rolled in too quickly to outrun.

“Hey!” Riku shouted, barely audible over the rain and thunder, “I’m going to Sora’s!” 

“Alright!” His dad shouted back. “Be careful on your way!”

Riku nodded and headed off, looking forward to getting out of the rain. He arrived at Sora’s house quickly and was greeted with a silent stare from Mouser. Sora wasn’t home. 

Riku dropped his cooler on the floor and turned back around._ Sora must have gone to the beach for lunch as usual, but why didn’t he come back? Did something happen to him? _ He took off, headed for their beach. He ran from the road to the path, to the footpath. 

He slipped almost immediately in the mud, just barely steadying himself in time. He continued on, being as careful as possible, and soon made it to the beach. 

“_ SOORAAAAA!? _” Riku yelled as loudly as he could, silently pleading that it was loud enough to carry over the sounds of the storm.

Nothing.

“_ SOOORAAAAA!? _ ” Riku tried again, “ _ ARE YOU OUT HERE!? _”

Riku barely caught it, but he thought he heard Sora’s voice. He ran towards the cliff face, hoping he was right. 

“_ SORA!? _” Riku waited for a reply.

Riku went silent for an excruciating moment — trying to block out the storm, listening for just one thing.

“_ Riku? _”

He just barely heard it, but he was sure this time. He pushed himself to run faster, and made it to the cliff face. Under an overhang was a soaked, shivering Sora. He was tightly curled up, making him look smaller than he usually did. 

“Sora, what-”

“You’re okay,” Sora’s eyes welled up, tears threatening to spill over. “I was looking for you.” 

“_ I _ was looking for _ you _,” Riku smiled gently at Sora, relieved he was safe. “Let’s go back home, alright?”

Sora nodded and awkwardly stood up. He flinched and shifted his weight onto one side. 

“Do you need help?” Riku asked, “What happened?”

“Slipped and fell…” Sora admitted. “I landed on some rocks or something.”

“Gotcha.” Riku wrapped his arm around Sora for support. “Let’s get back and make sure your leg’s okay, then.”

The two made their way back to Sora’s house as quickly as they could. They were both exhausted, Sora all but collapsed once they got inside. Riku stayed upright, gathering first aid supplies. Just in case.

“It’s not that bad, I guess…” Sora examined his arm and leg. They were covered in scrapes from the rocks, but nothing serious. 

“That’s good, at least.” Riku gently cleaned the scrapes, knowing Sora wouldn’t bother to do it himself. “What about your leg, thought? It seemed like it hurt pretty bad.”

“I think it’s just from how I landed,” Sora shrugged, “I’ll probably have a bruise or something.”

“Probably.” Riku nodded. “So...what...happened? You said you were looking for me?”

“Oh...yeah…” Sora looked away. “I went to the dock when it started pouring, but you weren’t there. So I thought you went to the beach, for lunch, y’know?”

“What, like I’d made it there before the rain?”

“Yeah.” Sora nodded. “I was worried, though, so I ran. And I slipped and fell.” Sora gestured to his arm and leg. “And you weren’t there either.”

“Sora…” 

“I guess I kinda freaked out.”

“I’m so sorry, Sora…” 

“It’s not your fault.” Sora sniffled. “You should dry off.”

“You too.” Riku got up to get towels. 

Sora sneezed loudly. “Ugh…”

“Don’t you dare get sick,” Riku chided. 

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” Sora’s retort was answered with a towel to the face. “Hey!” 

“Do you want tea or something?” Riku offered, “To warm up?” He stepped towards the kitchen area. 

“I can make tea,” Sora roughly scrubbed the towel through his hair, until it was deemed ‘dry enough’.

“No, it's fine, you should rest.” Riku shook his head. 

Sora stood up from the floor and approached Riku. If his leg was bothering him, he didn't show it. “No way, Riku! It's my house.” He got behind Riku and gently pushed him in the direction of the bathroom. “Go dry off. Lemme be a proper host.”

“I’m pretty sure that proper hosts don’t shove their guests.” Riku teased. He headed into the bathroom quickly, eager to change into dry clothes.

Sora busied himself with making the tea, getting out two mugs, and waiting for the water to boil. Now that everything was calmed down, it was getting a bit difficult to keep his eyes open. He yawned and stretched a bit, hoping some movement would keep him alert; but he stopped after a short moment as soreness overtook his muscles.

Sora jumped, startled by a particularly loud thunderclap. He peered out the window into the inky darkness and hoped the weather wasn’t this bad where Cloud and Tifa were.

“You alright?” Riku’s voice pulled Sora out of his train of thought.

“Yeah!” Sora nodded quickly. “Just thinkin’.”

Riku looked closely at Sora for a moment before turning to the kettle. He was trying to hide his concern, but Sora could tell. 

“Don’t worry, really.” Sora tried to comfort Riku. “Everything’s fine now, it all ended up okay, right?” He smiled earnestly, as if everything that had happened today hadn’t been a huge, stressful mess.

Riku couldn’t help but return Sora’s smile, though worries still floated in the back of his mind.

Eventually the storm broke, and life resumed. Riku stayed at Sora’s for another night, though, since everything was too wet to camp comfortably on the Big Hill.

The next day came and went without fanfare. Sora fed Mouser, had lunch at the beach with Riku, helped in the village garden, had dinner with Tidus, read about the world with Riku. A simple, but joyful day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a month, sorry! truthfully i haven't been in the headspace to work on this for a little while, so i'm trying to stretch what little buffer i have left;;

Cloud and Tifa came back home the next morning, bringing a visitor with them — an old man with a long white beard and strange robes. Sora introduced himself quickly before getting to work. He delivered baking supplies to Selphie and her mom, cloth to Hana, fishing tackle and nets in a box for when Gou and Riku get home, all around the village until the boat was empty.

“Thanks, kid.” Cloud gave a small nod.

“You were a great help, Sora! Thanks!” Tifa grinned and clapped her hand down on Sora’s shoulder.

“No problem,” Sora grinned back at the two of them.

“Let’s head home, we have a visitor.” Cloud started off towards their house.

“Oh, yeah!” Sora followed suit. He hadn’t seen the old man at all after introducing himself, and had all but forgotten about him.

They headed inside to find their visitor sitting quietly at the table reading a book. Nearby, the kettle poured hot water into two mugs and a teacup.

Sora stared in shock. He glanced at Cloud, who didn’t seem surprised in the least.

“Ah, yes, good timing! Please, come and sit. We have things to discuss.” The visitor gestured, and the mugs and cup found their ways into everyone’s hands.

Sora stared at the mug in his hands for a moment, before he sat down. Cloud leaned against the cabinets, hanging back a bit.

“Allow me to re-introduce myself,” The visitor started, “As I said earlier, my name is Merlin. I am a mage employed by the king.”

“The king?” Sora repeated, confused. Why would someone that worked for the king travel so far into the middle of nowhere, to what was essentially the very edge of the kingdom? Sora glanced back at Cloud. He still didn’t seem to be surprised at all, and Sora wondered if Merlin had explained everything to him already.

“Yes, indeed.” Merlin nodded. “You see, roughly twelve years ago our prince was kidnapped, stolen away from the castle. We searched for years in different towns to no avail, and thought he was truly lost to us. I had been doing some traveling, gathering magical supplies, when I overheard Cloud and Tifa speaking about your village.

“We hadn’t come out here looking for the prince, after all it is a very small village. But, I figured I would ask if there were any parentless children on this island. Lo and behold, there was. You.”

Sora’s head swam with everything that Merlin had said. He stared hard at Merlin, trying to see if he was being honest. He seemed to be.

“So...you’re saying that you think I might be the lost prince?” Sora couldn’t even believe those words were coming out of his mouth.

“You may be,” Merlin nodded. “There is one way to know for certain; the prince was pure of heart. This was confirmed by the Royal Mage Yen Sid, when the prince was a baby.

“Pure of heart…” Sora murmured, repeating Merlin’s words to process them.

“Yes, pure of heart. There is one way to find out, and truth be told, it’s rather easy.” Merlin chuckled. “If you wouldn’t mind coming closer, it will take but a moment to see.”

“Oh, sure…” Sora scooted closer in his chair. His confusion started to melt into nervousness.

Merlin held his hand over Sora’s chest and closed his eyes, concentrating. A soft glow emanated from the small space between, which grew in size as Merlin slowly pulled his hand away. Sora realized the glow was coming from his chest. Then, a crystalline heart appeared to slowly float out from him. It shimmered gently, surrounded by a gentle glow.

Sora stared at it, transfixed.

Merlin slowly pushed his hand forward again, the heart and the glow returning to Sora.

“You are, indeed, the missing prince.” Merlin smiled happily and dipped his head down in a casual bow. 

“Wha- I’m- are… are you sure?” Sora stammered. “What’s gonna happen, then?”

“You will have to return to the castle with me,” Merlin admitted, “I know that will be difficult, please take as much time as you need to say goodbye to everyone.” Merlin seemed genuinely apologetic.

“Oh. Okay,” Sora nodded stiffly. He slowly rose from his chair and went outside, leaving his tea untouched.

Sora walked on autopilot, his head too full to focus on anything around him. He kept going until he arrived at the Secret Place, which snapped him back to reality. He peeked inside, wondering how long it’d been since he and Riku went in, wondering if the drawings etched into the cave walls were still visible. He thought about climbing in to look, before realizing it’d be useless without a lantern.

He looked up at the sky, or at least what snippets of it he could see through the trees; the harsh afternoon light diffused to something gentler.

Sora jolted up, realizing what  _ afternoon light _ meant. He took off to the beach.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i'm super nervous about posting this one, hah
> 
> if you're interested, feel free to check out my twitter [here!](https://twitter.com/strawberiglitch)


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